Ghost of You
by LeafontheWinf2
Summary: Bolin struggles to deal with the weight of ruling Taku. Kazuki struggles to deal with the pressure of living up to Bolin's expectations. And Honora deals with the weight of being related to Bolin and Kazuki. Three generations of Bolin's family struggle in the aftermath of the camps as they face this brave new world. Set in the "Walk Through the Fire" verse.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go, this is something I've been working on along wih"Walk Through the Fire." This is a series of one shots that go along with the story itself. It takes places during and after the story from a series of points of views. These two chapters specifically are on two marriages that Bolin dealt with. It should be fun.**

**I hope you enjoy this, and I am taking requests. If you want a point of view from anyone about anything (exp. Sunki losing her arm?) I will write it. Don't worry, I plan on writing a lot about Bolin's family especially his granddaughter.**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

**Two Weddings Bolin Took Part In-Part 1**

"I still can't believe you came all this way to see me," Iroh murmured a gentle smile on his face as he and Bolin walked down the brightly lit street together arm in arm. It was only a short shore leave, at the end of the week Iroh would be back in his ship heading to the next mission. And Bolin would be back in Taku helping to get the new nation back on its feet.

Bolin smiled innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about, I had a meeting with the Fire Lord and you just happened to be here." The liar. Iroh knew without a doubt that Bolin was supposed to be in Taku, which was why it had been such a huge shock to disembark from his ship and see Bolin waiting for him with a delighted grin.

They'd passed the evening away as Iroh finally showed Bolin around Fire Nation Capital. They'd eaten in some hole in the wall restaurant before deciding to wander through the brightly lit streets and take in the sights.

"Kazuki isn't here with you?" Iroh asked wondering where Bolin's adopted son was. The young firebender was now thirteen but still hated being separated from Bolin for extended periods of time. It was one of the last remaining marks of their time spent in the camps, same as Bolin's eyepatch over his mangled eye.

"No, he decided to stay behind this time," Bolin admitted a worried frown crossing over his face, "He's training to join the Jade Guard now and didn't want to fall behind." A worried expression crossed Bolin's face but Iroh knew how to get rid of that expression easily enough.

Leaning down, he pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Bolin's mouth before pulling away. "Kazuki will be fine," Iroh murmured leading Bolin last stalls that were beginning to close due to the late hour, "He's shaping up to be as powerful a firebender as his father."

That managed to startle a bright laugh out of Bolin, a sound Iroh loved above all else. Bolin laughed too rarely now under the weight of responsibility he faced now running Taku.

"He's still missing out on seeing you," Bolin complained resting his head against Iroh's shoulder, "He'll never admit it, but Kazuki adores you. Always going on about how he's going to be just like you when he grows up...then he ruins it by calling me mom."

Iroh chuckled at that, "He's growing up. Soon you'll be watching him fall head over heels for some poor soul who will no doubt not be worthy of his attention."

"Kazuki flirting is a terrifying image," Bolin admitted with a silly grin, "Which is why I left him with the best babysitter in the whole world!"

"Having Pabu watch your son does not count as a babysitter."

"It does so. You take that back."

It was starting to get late enough to head back to Bolin's hotel room for the night, but neither seemed to feel the urge at all to turn in for the night. Somehow walking under the starry sky and the brightly lit lanterns cast a surreal magic over the capital city that would disappear the moment they returned to the hotel room. It was easier to wander under the stars and forget that they both had responsibilities to return to when the sun rose. It would be so much easier to believe they were ordinary citizens with simple lives like this.

Bolin came to a stop in the middle of the street forcing Iroh to stop of well. Turning to face his lover, a familiar feeling of dread filled the older man as he took in the sly smile on Bolin's face.

"It's a beautiful night," Bolin murmured.

Iroh raised an eyebrow, "Instead of commenting on the weather, why don't you tell me what you have in mind?"

The sly smile turned softer as Bolin regarded Iroh fondly. "Why don't we get married?"

"Right now?" Iroh clarified to which Bolin nodded quickly in affirmation. Iroh paused to think about what Bolin was asking for, a spur of the moment wedding before the city went to sleep. They'd been planning on getting married for years now, Iroh had proposed during the aftermath of the siege of Taku and Bolin had accepted happily. But somehow their work had kept them too busy to perform the ceremony itself. And anytime they did have the time for it, there wasn't enough time to draw up a guest list that included everyone.

Now that he thought about it, Iroh realized how much of a mess having the actual ceremony was. They needed to include the Fire Nation's royal family, the founders of Taku, not to mention all their friend's from Republic City. And that was disregarding who would be in what wedding parties, and if anymore foreign dignitaries had to be invited to avoid tricky political systems.

If they didn't have to deal with all that mess, then they'd probably have gotten married by now.

"Alright," Iroh said grabbing Bolin by the hand and dragging him down the street, "Let's go get married."

Bolin let out a delighted laugh as Iroh pulled him along the street, both of them running like children through the quiet marketplace. "Where are we going?" Bolin gasped out as Iroh led them deeper into the city.

"To the city official," Iroh explained dragging Bolin onwards, smiling brightly himself, "If we make it before he closes, he can marry us."

They must have made an interesting sight, tumbling into the official's office sharing secret smiles and easy laughter. Still the exhausted looking man did not turn them away from his desk, instead he dutifully filled out the paperwork while struggling to hide his exhausted yawns. It didn't stop Bolin and Iroh from smiling delightedly at each other as they signed their names on the documents.

"Congratulations, you're now married," the official let out a jaw cracking yawn before smiling sheepishly at the pair, "Seriously though, congratulations. Spur of the moment idea?"

"The wedding was," Iroh admitted wryly, "We've been engaged for three years though."

"That's wonderful! I hope you two have a great rest of your night," the official said while seeing the newly married pair out of the building before locking up for the night. Which left Iroh and Bolin alone smiling happily at each other under the stars.

"We finally got married," Bolin said with a helpless laugh as he and Iroh traded a gentle kiss, "How does it feel, having a husband and a son now?"

"I don't know, how does it feel to be in the official royal line?" Iroh teased back leading Bolin bad, to the hotel.

"I wish Kazuki was here though," Bolin admitted softly after they'd been walking for a while, "He's been hoping we'd actually get married for years now."

"That's what he gets for staying behind," Iroh deadpanned causing his new husband to laugh hysterically in the starlight.

Husband. Iroh could get used to saying that pretty quickly.

Returning to Taku was just what Bolin expected. He'd purposefully returned late in the evening to avoid having to work on anything before heading to his home. It was a peaceful walk through the quiet city streets and Bolin cheerfully greeted the people he passed. He knew most of them now, the camp survivors had formed a tight knit community quickly where everyone looked after each other.

Bolin just knew there would be some big welcome home for him the next day as the city celebrated the return of their leader. He hated the fuss but could never convince anyone to stop the celebrations. As it was, it was a quick walk to the house he shared with Kazuki and sometimes with Iroh.

Hopefully soon Iroh would be able to come and live there permanently, there had been talk of a representative for the United Forces Military in Taku. If Bolin worked it right, he'd manage to get Iroh to join them here.

Opening the door to his house, Bolin called out, "Kazuki! I'm back!"

The patter of feet echoed across the floor above them, followed by the heavy footed clunk of combat boots down stairs. Kazuki came stumbling into the room, a wide grin on his handsome face as he rushed forward to give Bolin a spine breaking hug. "You're back," the thirteen year old murmured burying his face in Bolin's shoulder, "I missed you so much."

"Ah come on now, I wasn't gone that long," Bolin teased hugging his son back, "What's the matter, you don't like Pabu as a babysitter?"

"He's a fire ferret dad, not a babysitter," Kazuki deadpanned while an excitedly squeaking Pabu climbed onto Bolin's shoulder. Kazuki's sharp amber eyes studied Bolin's face before a worried frown appeared, "Something happened, you look worried. Is Iroh alright, did he get hurt?"

"What? No, Iroh's fine," Bolin headed up the stairs to his room, Kazuki following close behind. Pulling off his eyepatch, Bolin set in on the dresser before falling backwards onto his bed, pulling a loudly protecting Kazuki with him, "And I'm worried because I'm not sure how well you'll take finding out you are now a prince."

"We've already talked about that, and I said I'm alright...wait," Kazuki's eyes narrowed and in that moment he looked so much like Mako in one of his disapproving moods that it was scary, "You said I am a prince, not that I'll be a prince. What did you do?"

Bolin huffed at the suspicious tone, reaching up to ruffle Kazuki's wild hair fondly. "I married Iroh two days ago in the Fire Nation," Bolin explained patiently. He let out a sign at Kazuki's horrified expression, "What's the matter kid?"

"You got married already? I thought there was supposed to be a big party where all the official people were invited and you wore fancy outfits and that sort of thing. And instead of that, the two of you decided to elope?"

"Well, yeah. It was the fancy party and the important people that's kept the wedding from happening," Bolin explained to Kazuki, "We just decided to skip the whole mess and just get married to get the whole thing over with. I wish you'd been there though..."

"I wish I'd been there to watch you actually get married," Kazuki complained good naturedly snuggling into Bolin's side. "How did the Fire Lord react to the news?"

"No idea. We both booked it out of there so we wouldn't have to find out," Bolin admitted with a cheerful grin, "You realize this means you're grandmother is the Fire Lord, right?"

"You've realized she's your mother-in-law, right?"

"Well damn. I'd forgotten about that detail."

The next couple of weeks, Bolin fell into the habit of keeping the telephone in his office turned off. Normally it wasn't a problem to have constant contact with the outside world, but the wedding had changed everything. Somehow he and Iroh had managed to offend every official by not inviting any of them. Mako had some choice words to say on the subject before Bolin had hung up on him, and the earthbender just knew his older brother was on his way over to make him suffer for that.

But Iroh was the one truly suffering through this whole mess. He'd sent a letter to Bolin the day before explaining that Fire Lord Izumi was so angry about the whole catastrophe she planned on disowning him. It didn't phase Bolin much any more, he'd learned it was a yearly event where one of the royal children was threatened with being disowned. Bolin figured it was a sign of affection for the crazy family.

Not to mention his friend's in Taku were not the least bit helpful. Varrick could not stop laughing about the whole mess, while Baraz and Ahnah had smugly informed Bolin they'd been married with plenty of witnesses. They ignored the fact that they were trapped in a concentration camp during this whole mess.

Bolin had at least expected Akita to be on his side during the whole mess, but she was too amused by the whole ordeal to agree with him. "The wedding was the social event of the century, and you and Iroh ruined it in an evening," Akita explained with a delighted grin, "This is the most entertaining thing that has ever happened to me!" So she was useless.

As he opened the door to his house to see Iroh standing there, Bolin realized he could never regret marrying Iroh. Not if the marriage made it so Iroh always returned to his door.

* * *

**So yeah. I did some research and the amount of people who would need to be invited to Bolin and Iroh's wedding. It's a lot. I can see that throwing back the wedding plans for years until they go "screw it, let's get hitched" which they did. And it's amazing. **

**If you want anymore of the fallout, I will be happy to expand on that later as well.**


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Bolin was exhausted, and he still had a busy day to deal with. Normally on days like this, he would just clock out early and head home to take a nap. No one ever really cared when he did that, seeing how his job was typically undemanding. But today Bolin had to be at his very best throughout the chaos of the day. Why you may be wondering?

Becuase today was Kazuki, Bolin's son's, wedding day.

And it was going to be a massive event. This wedding had been planned to perfection over the course of a year. Every guest had sent their promise to attend months ago, and the venue had been picked and booked a year ago. Not to mention how beautiful the decorations were or how much food had been prepared.

It was all under the direction of Fire Lord Izumi. When Bolin had mentioned that maybe this was a little over board, his mother-in-law had glared before snapping back, "You and Iroh eloped. I plan on getting one actual wedding out of this family!" Bolin had backed down quickly under the force of her glare.

Iroh, wisely, had stayed out of the whole thing. That level of strategy was why he was a general, of that Bolin had no doubt.

Normally a wedding was a joyous occasion, but Bolin was ready to tear his hair out. Why? Becuase his soon to be daughter-in-law seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. Raita was one of Taku's best soldiers, slowly climbing up the ladder of special forces with the steady determination of her generation. She'd entered Taku as the only surviving child from camp 26 before throwing herself into the military like so many of those children.

Opening to the door to the room she was waiting in, Bolin made sure to smile as Raita rose to greet him with a strained smile of her own. She was a good match for Kazuki, Bolin mused, studying the young woman who was working her way up through the Jade Guard. Wavy black hair was pulled into a messy briad that hung over her shoulder and framed sparkling green eyes. Freckles spread over the bridge of her nose, while a small section of her hair had been braided to hold a small banner of Taku in it.

She looked wrong dressed in the delicate green silks of the Earth Kingdom. Raita looked natural in the heavy tan and black uniform of the Jade Guard, with her broadsword in hand ready for action. Now she just looked fragile standing there which Raita most definitely was not.

"Hey kid," Bolin greeted happily, closing the door behind him before pulling Raita in for a brief hug, "You must be excited for your big day tomorrow."

Raita's smile grew strained at the mention on the ceremony. "Oh yeah, it's going to be wonderful," she managed to murmur but it was enough to get Bolin concerned.

He'd been watching both her and Kazuki over the last two months and was worried. Raita had become more and more withdrawn as the wedding approached, throwing herself into training and making sure everything was absolutely perfect. Not to mention how manic her smiles had become. That should have been enough to keep Bolin busy, but Kazuki just added to the problem. Kazuki was convinced Raita had changed her mind about marrying him and spent the last month panicking about her leaving him. Iroh was the one who could calm Kazuki down normally, but the general had been deployed for the last three months leaving Bolin alone with the crazy kids who were driving him insane.

But he loved them both, so Bolin had to try. Bolin settled in a seat across from Raita, a worried frown marring his face. "Marriage is a rather scary concept," Bolin said seriously as Raita sank into the seat across from him, "Not going to lie, after Iroh proposed I had a panic attack because there was no way he could want to spend the rest of his life with someone as messed up as me."

Raita glared heatedly back at Bolin. "There's nothing wrong with you," she defended and it was so sweet how personally she took these offenses.

"There's plenty wrong with me, but that's not important. What's important is that you are functioning much better as a human being than I ever did, so don't worry. Kazuki would pull the stars from the sky for you if you wanted him too," Raita smiled at that, her entire face beaming as she though about Kazuki. That was what Bolin wanted to see. She loved his son as much as he loved her. "But something else is bothering you. Is it the size of the wedding?"

Raiza's expression froze at that which answered Bolin's question. "I'd like to apologize for that," Bolin said sheepishly, "If Iroh and I hadn't eloped, then you could have a wedding as big or as small as you'd like."

"It's alright Bolin. I remember how crazy it was for the two of you," Raita was always the first to defend him, even from himself, "I remember watching you both and seeing how in love you were. And I wanted to find something like that one day and I have with Kazuki. I can't imagine life without him..."

"Good, just remember that and it will all be worth it," Bolin reached out to gently pat the back of her hand, "Now how do you feel about a final dress fitting?"

Raita gazed at Bolin with adoration in her eyes, "I'd like that a lot."

The wedding dress was a beautiful creation. Made out of soft silks and sweeping lace, it was a work of art on the stand. The traditional high neck dress had been brought to her as a present from the former King Wu of the Earth Kingdom so she could remember her national roots as a favor to Bolin. Now it stood proudly in her dressing room, all soft lines and delicate decorations in soft green tones. The antique was one of the last remaining articles from the Earth Kingdom and it was beautiful and graceful.

Raita hated that dress.

She wasn't graceful or delicate, she was a solider. Raita was one of the elite Jade Guard, a soldier and spy for the good of the city of Taku. She had spent years in training to earn her rank among the Guard and her white mask as a symbol of protection to the people she guarded. Raita had corded muscles along her arms and legs, not to mention scars from sword practice, which she thought looked ridiculous when framed by the silk of the dress. She looked like a fool wearing the dress.

Not to mention how it was the epitome of Earth Kingdom. The musty ancient dress was made of green silk with golden thread, covered in pale white lace and jewels that formed Earth Kingdom symbols across the lace. But staring at the dress, Raita couldn't see herself inside of it. A stranger looked back at her from the mirror, hair pinned up and styled delicately with jewels her face painted.

Raita looked like a doll. Every movement she made felt wrong, especially when her callouses would catch on the lace when she shifted her weight. "You look beautiful," Bolin murmured deftly pinning a piece of her hair back with years of practice, "My son is a very lucky man to have you."

Raita managed a weak smile, her eyes beginning to tear up. Sure Bolin was wonderful, but her parents should be here helping her prepare for her wedding. Instead they were both dead, lying in some mass grave due to the Earth Empire and she was alone.

"No, I'm alright," Raita managed to gasp out waving away a concerned Bolin, "Just. The dress is a little dusty, it's making my allergies act up."

"Well, the dress has been in storage for a while," Bolin admitted a thoughtful frown on his face, "How about we put it back on the rack and let it air dry? That should take care of everything."

Raita smiled back at him adoringly, "That sounds wonderful." Honestly, she did not know where she would be without Bolin in her life. Her soon to be father-in-law ("mother-in-law," Kazuki would tease Bolin with) was a gift from the spirits to make her life easier.

Bolin patted her shoulder quite happily. "And don't worry about who will walk you down the aisle. I've been beating back people looking for permission for quite sometime but I found someone perfect."

"Who?"

"Baraz asked." It was perfect. Baraz and Ahnah had taken her in when she had nothing. They were surrogate parents who cared for Raita and she would be honored to be seen as their child. And judging from Bolin's knowing look he understood.

"Come on kid," Bolin led her down the steps to the rest of the house, "Let's join your pre-wedding party."

Iroh settled down to read in their bed while Bolin curled up next to his side. Bolin had been running himself ragged the last couple of weeks to get this wedding to be perfect for their son. Iroh would have helped as well but his leave had been delayed for some reason and Iroh had just managed to get free to head back to their home.

At least he'd arrived to help deal with Kazuki. Their son was convinced Raita would leave him standing at the altar and Bolin just had no energy to deal with it right now. So Iroh stepped up to keep Kazuki calm until the ceremony was over. It may or may not have involved a lot of alcohol but Iroh was planning to deny everything if Bolin ever asked.

A low boom of thunder caught Iroh's attention and managed to rouse Bolin from his light doze. The exhausted lavabender let out a low groan before turning to burry his face in Iroh's shoulder. "Wha was th noise?" Bolin mumbled his voice muzzy with sleep. It was an intimate sound, one that always caused Iroh to realize how lucky he was to have his husband.

"Just a thunder storm," Iroh murmured pressing a kiss to Bolin's forehead, "Go back to sleep love."

"Is good. Rain'll help crops," Bolin grumbled falling asleep against Iroh's shoulder. Iroh was expecting for Bolin to stay asleep and he would join Bolin once he put his book down. But instead Bolin's eyes snapped open and a panicked expression crossed his face. "Shit! Iroh it's raining!"

Iroh could only watch as Bolin threw the covers off and took off at a run for the door. Placing down his book, the general followed after distraught lavabender to the balcony that over looked Taku. He had to stop as Raita came running past him terror etched on her face. Once he reached the room the reason for their distress was apparent.

Raita's wedding dress was soaking wet as Bolin wheeled it inside the dry house. Raita hovered around him while Bolin parked the dress in front of the fire in the guest room. "I heard the rain and came running back," Raita babbled, her eyes wide as she slowly sank deeper into shock at the sight of her dress. It didn't help that Bolin looked just as bad, made worse by the fact that he hadn't had time to grab his eyepatch so his damaged eye shone in the firelight.

So Iroh would have to calm them both down. Stepping forward he pulled Bolin in close while resting a comforting hand against Raita's shoulder. "It will dry by the fire and be ready for he ceremony tomorrow," Iroh murmured leading them both from the room, "There's nothing you can do now. Just get some rest."

Even as he helped Bolin back into bed, Iroh hoped this was the end of the troubles for the wedding. His son and Raita deserved the perfect wedding, and he would do his best to make it happen.

The dress was not fine in the morning. Bolin had taken one look at it and started his contingency plan with Ahnah. They'd had this plan in the works for the same amount of time as the actual wedding which was part of where Bolin's exhaustion came from. But right now Bolin was helping Raita into her dress, tying off the laces in the back.

"You look beautiful," Bolin murmured and it was true. She did look like a dream but it was the wrong one. Bolin had watched her grow up covered in scrapes and bruises, and when she became a women the tan Jade Guard coat became her sign. But now she was dressed in lace and silk with jewels draped in her hair.

Raita managed to send him the same awkward smile she'd been wearing the entire time. She turned to speak to him, and then a scowl crossed her face as her ankle caught the train of the dress. Bolin could only watch as Raita shifted her weight back, placing her heel against the damp delicate lace and pressing down. Her expression shifted to horror as a long loud ripping noise spread through the room.

"It's alright, just stay calm. I'll see if I can fix it," Bolin promised grabbing a sewing kit and kneeling behind her to work. But the rip in the fabric was long and Bolin had no idea what to do with it. Even worse as soon as he touched the fabric it started to fall apart.

The dress was just too old to stay together, the stiches strained from rain and age. Bolin and Raita watched her reflection in the mirror as the skirt of the dress just gave way falling to pool around her ankles. There was nothing Bolin could do to help. Not now.

Raita took in a shuddering breath, tears streaming down her face. She looked absolutely wrecked right then. "The dress..." Raita whispered, "I don't have a dress anymore."

"Now don't say that sweetheart. We can fix this." They both turned to see Ahnah standing in the doorway, a broad smile on her face and a bundle of tan cloth in her hands walking into the room Ahnah gently pushed Bolin out of the way. "I've got this handled Bo, you go calm down Kazuki and let him know the wedding is still on while I get Raita in her dress."

Bolin nodded and headed out of the room. A small smile crossed his face at Raita's delighted "It's perfect!" before heading to where the ceremony was being held. Slipping into the seat between Iroh and Mako quietly, Bolin leaned in to press a kiss to Iroh's cheek before taking his seat.

"How's it going?" Bolin murmured, eyes of Kazuki who looked distraught.

Iroh let out a pained sigh, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "He's convinced she left him at the altar," Iroh ground out, looking older than his years right then, "Bolin, I love our son but I may have to kill him. Please tell me Raita is coming."

"She's on her way right now. We had a malfunction with the dress," Bolin admitted wryly, "Meaning that we had no dress. But it's fixed now so stop making that face dear. I handled everything."

Iroh wisely didn't say anything about the whole mess. He simply grabbed Bolin's hand and raised it to press a kiss to the back of it. It brought a delighted smile to Bolin's face as he snuggled close to Iroh's side, an exhausted sigh leaving him. Iroh couldn't help but pull the exhausted lavabender close, trying to help him relax a little.

"How about after this I take you to Ember Island?" Iroh asked softly worried about the deep bags under Bolin's eyes, "You could use a good vacation."

"Spirits, I would love that," Bolin grumbled, "I've been going nuts keeping everything together. In a couple more minutes it will all be over."

Iroh couldn't help but agree watching his adopted son panic quietly in front of them. Everyone else seemed amused by his panic, especially Varrick who looked like he was going to start laughing any moment. It didn't help that the President of Taku looked to be on the verge of laughter as they prepared to officiate the ceremony, not to mention how Iroh's family was all smiling. Bolin was just grateful that Lu Ten hadn't said anything yet to ruin the ceremony, but it was still early.

Luckily before anything else could happen, the music for the bride entering started up. Whispers ran through the audience as they got to their feet as Raita entered the room. A low buzz started in the back and worked its way forward as she walked down the aisle. Iroh could undertsandi the confusion once he saw her dress. Raita was dressed in the Jade Guard uniform, the tan coat flowing behind her as she walked down the aisle with her head held high.

It was not a typical wedding dress or what they had planned at all. Iroh couldn't help but turn to regard his son, wondering what the young man was thinking about the whole situation. But Kazuki just looked delighted to see Raita. He was wearing the same adoring expression Iroh often wore around Bolin, and in that moment he knew everything would work out.

They were obviously in love standing together. The young man dressed in royal Fire Nation garb, while the girl was dressed in her military uniform. A different sight than anyone expected but still a perfect one.

A soft sniff caught Iroh's attention, bringing his focus to a teary eyed Bolin. "Our little boy is getting married," Bolin whispered.

"Yes he is," Iroh murmured and with a proud smile turned back to the ceremony with his husband safe at his side.


End file.
